Collective Bargaining and Strikes: An Exit‐Voice Analysis

Reactions to dissatisfaction in the employment situation take disparate forms. Despite the efforts of several branches of the social sciences little progress has been made in understanding the phenomenon of industrial conflict. An adequate theory of conflict should be capable of explaining at least the following three crucial aspects. The first concerns the sources of conflict — more specifically, the extent to which conflict should be seen as an endemic or a latent feature of the employment relationship. The second concerns the mode of grievance expression adopted, in particular, whether the various modes represent alternative or complementary forms. In addition, there is the problem of clearly delineating the probable effectiveness and costs of alternative expressive forms under various conditions. Thirdly, there is a need to address the supposed problem of explaining the rationality of acts of industrial protest.